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Garcia takes 2 shot lead
into Monday finish
Spain's Sergio Garcia birdied
the last two holes Sunday for a 66 and a two-shot lead over playing partner Scott
Hoch heading into the final round of the Buick Classic. The tournament will finish
on Monday after heavy rain completely washed out Saturday's third round play.
The final round will begin
Monday at 8:30 a.m. (et) with threesomes going off on two tees.
J.P. Hayes, who earned
his one and only PGA Tour win in a playoff here in 1998, carded five birdies and
one bogey en route to a 67 and solo third at minus-nine.
Russ Cochran (67), Gabriel
Hjertstedt (68) and Stewart Cink (69) are knotted in fourth place at seven-under,
one shot ahead of a group that includes former Buick Classic winners Billy Andrade
(68) and Vijay Singh (70).
Tiger Woods, appearing
in this event for the first time since 1997, bounced back from an opening 75 with
rounds of 66-68 over the last 36 holes. But the world's No. 1 player is eight
shots off the pace at four-under 209 with Paul Azinger (68), Kevin Sutherland
(69) and Mark Wiebe (73).
"I'm going to have to play
a great round," Woods said. "When you're this far behind, you're going to need
a little help. The way the guys on top of the board are playing, it's going to
be awfully tough to catch them."
Woods got off to a fast
start with four front-nine birdies that put him high on the leaderboard as Garcia
and Hoch had yet to tee off in the third round.
Woods had to scramble to
save par at the short par-four 10th, then carded a bogey at 11 when he missed
the green with his approach and rimmed out a five- foot par save.
At the 12th, Woods was
able to make birdie but he lost a stroke at the 17th, where he expected the wind
to keep his ball up but instead flew his eight-iron approach over the green.
"I needed a few more on
the back nine," Woods said. "I needed to shoot on the back nine what I shot on
the front nine. It was close to really being a good one today."
Garcia had a one-shot lead
after a bogey at 16, but Hoch chipped in for birdie from right of the green at
17 to tie the young Spaniard at the top of the leaderboard.
The tie did not last long
as Garcia, from directly behind the hole, chipped in for birdie at the same hole
to retake the lead.
At the par-five 18th, Hoch
made par while Garcia once again found himself over the green in two. Garcia came
close to holing his chip for eagle, but the ball slid left of the hole. He tapped
in for birdie and a two-shot lead heading
"I'm going to have to shoot
one less than the guy who finishes second, at least," said Garcia, who missed
out on a playoff by one shot at last year's Buick Classic. "I just got to be patient,
take it as it comes and try to focus as much as you can when you're on the golf
course."
Garcia opened with four
pars and then birdied five and six. Chip-ins seemed to be the norm for Garcia
on Sunday, as he holed a lob-wedge shot at seven for eagle.
"It was for sure a lot
of happiness as I saw it going in, because I hit a good chip," said Garcia. "When
I saw it bounce, I said, that's going to be close."
Garcia birdied the par-five
ninth when he two-putted from 35 feet to post a front-nine 31.
Last year, Garcia double-bogeyed
the 11th hole to fall out of the lead when he drove left into the trees. On Sunday,
Garcia once again found the woods on the left side, but this time, he hooked a
five-iron onto the putting surface and two-putted for par.
He bogeyed the 12th and
16th but used his dramatic finish to grab a lead for the first time heading into
the final round of a PGA Tour event. He came from five shots down to win last
month's Colonial for his first victory on U.S. soil.
Hoch was solid on Sunday
with four birdies and a bogey for a three-under 68 and a three-round total of
10-under 203.
Brad Faxon, Jay Williamson
and Craig Parry joined Andrade and Singh at six- under par.
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